[Inside A Rental Apartment In The Real World]
Pengpeng was lying half-asleep on the sofa, scrolling through his phone. Hearing some noise from the gaming room, he looked over and happened to meet Black Blade's gaze as he walked out.
After glancing at him, Pengpeng yawned and casually asked, "Done with what you were doing?"
"Yeah." Black Blade replied while walking over to the sofa and flopping down into a comfortable position.
Seeing this, Pengpeng couldn't help feeling a little curious. Black Blade had definitely been acting a bit strange today, but he couldn't quite figure out what was strange about it.
Although Black Blade occasionally visited Pengpeng's place, he usually just stopped by while passing through, brought something with him, sat for a bit, and then left.
This time, even though he had also said he was just passing by, not long after entering he asked to borrow the computer.
Pengpeng hadn't thought much of it at first. He just collapsed onto the sofa and let Black Blade do whatever he wanted.
Unexpectedly, he fell asleep the moment he lay down. He slept for an hour straight, and shortly after waking up, he noticed Black Blade coming out.
Normally, Black Blade would already be saying goodbye around this time.
But this time, his behavior was a little unexpected.
At this moment, he didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
Because of that, Pengpeng became curious. Looking at him, he asked, "Looks like you're planning to camp out here all day?"
Black Blade raised an eyebrow and asked back, "Why, can't I? What, you trying to kick me out?"
After getting confirmation of his guess, Pengpeng instantly perked up. He sat up and immediately put on a gossip-loving expression.
"What happened? Got dumped?"
"I thought triangles were supposed to be the most stable shape. Isn't your love triangle a bit too fragile?"
Hearing that, Black Blade looked at him in disbelief before rolling his eyes dramatically.
"Read less doujinshi and spend less time with Rookie."
Then he paused, looked at Pengpeng, and raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't things between you and Steve kind of hard to explain too? Careful you don't end up becoming the gossip yourself."
"Tch." Pengpeng responded dismissively.
He didn't continue arguing with Black Blade. Instead, he quietly picked up his phone and opened their group chat.
As he scrolled through the previous messages, he said, "Fine, don't tell me. I can just scroll up and figure out all your business anyway~"
Seeing Pengpeng open the group chat, a trace of panic flashed across Black Blade's face.
After steadying himself, he checked the time on his phone and said, "When did you become so nosy? Anyway, it's nothing. I've got guests at home today. It's too noisy there, so I came here for some peace and quiet."
Then he paused and looked at Pengpeng.
"Uh... got anything to eat? I'm hungry."
Hearing that Black Blade was hungry, Pengpeng immediately realized his mistake.
Cold sweat almost broke out on him.
He had fallen into a habit.
Back when Black Blade used to visit, Pengpeng had invited him to stay for meals before, but Black Blade always just sat for a while and left.
Over time, Pengpeng got used to it.
Whenever Black Blade came over, all he needed to prepare was a cup of coffee.
Today, when Black Blade suddenly showed up, Pengpeng had instinctively treated him the same way as before.
He hadn't even noticed Black Blade was hungry.
Realizing this, Pengpeng quickly put down his phone and asked, "Want to go eat out? There's a small restaurant downstairs that's pretty good."
Before Black Blade could answer, he continued, "Oh, right. Didn't you say you wanted spicy hot pot before? There's a place in the nearby shopping district that makes a decent one."
"Or we could call the others and go get crayfish..."
Before Pengpeng could finish, Black Blade hurriedly stopped him.
He waved his hand.
"It's hot as hell outside. I don't want to go out. Let's order delivery."
Then he looked up at Pengpeng and said firmly, "I'll order."
As he spoke, he picked up his phone and started browsing the delivery app.
His tone sounded just like some domineering CEO.
Although Pengpeng wanted to politely refuse a few times, he knew Black Blade's personality, so he gave up.
"Yes, boss. Thank you, boss."
With that, Pengpeng collapsed back onto the sofa.
Just as he was about to pick up his phone and continue scrolling through the chat history, Black Blade spoke again, "Ordered. Let's find a movie first. It'll be good to watch while eating."
"Pretty fancy."
Though Pengpeng teased him, his body was honest.
He immediately put down his phone and started helping Black Blade find something to watch during the meal.
Seeing Pengpeng put away his phone, Black Blade finally let out a sigh of relief.
"How about this one?"
"No."
———
[After Thirty Minutes]
"What about this?"
"Boring."
"What exactly do you want to watch?"
"I don't know."
———
[Some Time Later]
"Then why don't you pick?"
"No."
After going back and forth like this for over half an hour, Pengpeng finally threw the remote at Black Blade.
"Do you really think you're a guest here?! Pick it yourself! I'm done serving you!!"
Just as Pengpeng finished speaking, a crisp doorbell suddenly rang.
Seeing this, the corners of Black Blade's mouth lifted slightly.
He raised an eyebrow and said leisurely, "Forget it. Let's just watch the first one you picked."
Then he grinned and teased, "The loving delivery ordered by your CEO has arrived. Go get it."
Hearing that, Pengpeng rolled his eyes dramatically.
He couldn't be bothered arguing with Black Blade anymore and turned toward the door.
The moment Pengpeng reached the entrance and opened the door, he froze.
There was no delivery driver outside.
Instead, there was a person wearing a cheap Death Knight mascot costume, holding an exquisite gift box.
Pengpeng was completely stunned by the scene before him.
His eyes widened, his face full of shock.
For a moment, he didn't even know how to react.
Then came a loud bang.
As if pushed by some invisible force, Pengpeng instinctively slammed the door shut.
"What the hell was that?????"
Before Pengpeng could figure out what was happening, Black Blade appeared beside him like a ghost and pulled the door open again.
As the door reopened, several familiar yet chaotic voices entered their ears.
"Happy Birthday~~~"
The words came from inside the cheap Death Knight costume. Although the voice sounded muffled through the costume, it was obviously Grayfist's voice.
"Happy Birthday!"
The standard greeting came from Steve, who had appeared from who-knows-where.
"Happy bir...??"
The greeting that completely lost its rhythm after being interrupted by the other two came from Pocolo, standing behind the mascot.
Hearing that the three of them hadn't even managed to rehearse "Happy Birthday" properly, Black Blade covered his face speechlessly.
But Pengpeng burst out laughing because of them.
Looking at everyone, he said helplessly in a mock-scolding tone, "Alright, tell me. Whose terrible idea was this?"